Sotomayor’s secrets of success: Work hard, dare to dream

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke and read from her book My Beloved World, before signing books for hundreds of well-wishers at Shiley Theater on the USD campus Sunday afternoon.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke and read from her book My Beloved World, before signing books for hundreds of well-wishers at Shiley Theater on the USD campus Sunday afternoon. (Peggy Peattie)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke and read from her book My Beloved World, before signing books for hundreds of well-wishers at Shiley Theater on the USD campus Sunday afternoon. A line of people began forming hours before the event, even though the lecture was sold out as soon as it was

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke and read from her book My Beloved World, before signing books for hundreds of well-wishers at Shiley Theater on the USD campus Sunday afternoon. A line of people began forming hours before the event, even though the lecture was sold out as soon as it was advertised.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke and read from her book My Beloved World, before signing books for hundreds of well-wishers at Shiley Theater on the USD campus Sunday afternoon. A line of people began forming hours before the event, even though the lecture was sold out as soon as it was advertised.

Standing ovations normally come after a speech or performance. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s came before, the moment she stepped into the theater at the University of San Diego, where she spoke to a sold out audience of more than 600 Sunday afternoon.

Sotomayor read from her book My Beloved World, which tells the story of her implausible ascent as a Hispanic woman from the Bronx through two Ivy League universities to the highest judicial seat in the land.

“I wrote it as honestly and candidly as I could,” she said.

She joked that the book was thick, so that if she ever let her status go to her head, her family and friends could whack her with it. Then she got serious: “The essence of its purpose was to remind me of where I came from,” she said to applause.

Sotomayor skipped the podium and spoke from the center of the stage, looking casual and comfortable as she shared a message of empowerment against all odds. “Anything is possible,” she told the crowd. “Becoming who you want to be is something everyone in this room should aim for, work for … but also take joy in.”

She urged young people to reach for their dreams, but also to anchor themselves in their family histories.

“If you’re fortunate enough to have a living parent … a living grandparent … who remembers your family stories, taking the time to actually listen to their stories. And ask why. ‘Why did that happen, and how did you feel?’”

Sotomayor said Chapter 7, about her parents’ romance, was “a treasure for me” because researching it gave her insights into the father she barely knew. An excerpt she read was a mirthful, effervescent recounting of how her mother enlisted in the military as a young woman from Puerto Rico. Sotomayor then expressed her gratitude for the service of the armed forces. The military “protects us,” she said, “but it also provides a future for so many of our young men and women today. I want to be sure we remember them for the human beings they are.”

After the reading, some people asked about her thought process as a Justice. When she writes an opinion, she said, “I think about those people who are losing the case” and composes her ruling by “giving them the respect that they deserve in explaining your decisions why they must lose.”

Someone asked how she has thrived in an environment dominated by males. “Don’t be afraid of being a woman,” Sotomayor replied after a thoughtful pause. A professional woman today might find herself in a room full of male peers, and someone might still turn to her and accidentally say, “Please go get the coffee.”

“Those are hard moments,” she said, not because of any “intentional discrimination,” but because of the “unthinking behavioral patterns” that persist despite decades of progress.

Her answer to such awkward situations: “‘I think we each get our own coffees.’ Always nicely, with a smile. Smiles are devastating.”